Business
Communication
Chapter 4
Basics of English Grammar
Copyright 2010 South-Western Cengage Learning
Nouns
 A noun is a word used to name people, places, or
things.
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Proper Noun
 A proper noun names a specific person, place, or
thing.
 Always distinguished by capital letters.
 Examples: Mary Ann, Seattle, Pepsi
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Common Noun
 A common noun is a word that identifies a person,
place, or thing in a general way.
 Examples:
 girl
 team
 rock
 car
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Compound Nouns
 A compound noun is two or more common nouns
put together.
 Examples:
 Editor in chief
 Son-in-law
 Board of directors
 Pocketbook
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Singular Noun
 A singular noun is one that refers to one person,
place, or thing.
 Some nouns are always singular:
 Advice
 Information
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Plural Noun
 A plural noun is one that refers to more than one
person, place, or thing.
 Can be formed by adding s to the end of the singular
form: books guys
 Can be formed by adding es to a singular noun that
ends in s, x, z, sh, ch, or o: lenses, bushes, taxes,
potatoes
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Plural Noun
 Can be formed by changing a y at the end of the word
to an I and then adding es: cities, territories
 Can be irregular plural forms: man to men; child to
children; foot to feet
 Some nouns are always plural
 Pants
 Goods
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Collective Noun
 A collective noun represents a group that usually acts
as a single unit.
 Examples:
 Tribe
 Jury
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Possessive Nouns
 Possessive nouns are ones that show ownership.
 Examples:
 man
 Ms. Lopez
 Executives
 Attorneys
+’s
+’s
+’
+’
=
=
=
=
man’s opinion
Ms. Lopez’s car
executives’
attorneys’
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Pronouns
 Pronouns are words used in the place of nouns.
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Personal Pronoun
 A personal pronoun is a substitute for a noun that
refers to a specific person or thing.
 May be in the
 Nominative case
 Objective case
 Possessive case
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Nominative Case Pronoun
 A nominative case pronoun may be used a s a
subject or a predicate nominative in a sentence.
 Examples:
 I
 We
 You
 He
 She
 It
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Objective Case Pronoun
 An objective case pronoun may be used as a direct or
indirect object of a verb or as the object of a
preposition.
 Examples:
 Me
 Us
 You
 Him
 Her
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Possessive Case Pronoun
 A pronoun that indicates ownership is a possessive
case pronoun.
 Examples:
 My
 Mine
 Our
 Your
 His
 Her
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Examples:
 Nominative Case
 Anita and I voted for him.
 It is she who received all the attention.
 Objective Case
 Please send them by express mail.
 Lamar brought her a burrito.
 Possessive Case
 These are our folders.
 The fancy clothes are hers.
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Intensive Pronouns
 An intensive pronoun is a compound pronoun
created by joining a pronoun with self or selves.
 Examples:
 Myself
 Yourself
 Ourselves
 Themselves
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Reflexive Pronoun
 A reflexive pronoun is also a compound pronoun
that ends in self or selves; however, it refers to a noun
or pronoun that appears earlier in a sentence.
 Example:
 We found ourselves reminiscing at the reunion.
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Interrogative Pronoun
 An interrogative pronoun begins a question that
leads to a noun or pronoun response.
 Examples:
 Who
 Whose
 Whom
 Which
 What
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Demonstrative Pronoun
 A demonstrative pronoun is used to point to a
specific person, place, or thing.
 Examples:
 This
 That
 These
 Those
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Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
 The noun or noun phrase that is replaced or referred to
by the pronoun is called the pronoun antecedent.
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First-Person Pronoun
 Use a first-person pronoun to represent the persons
speaking
 Examples:
 I
 we
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Second-Person Pronoun
 Use a second-person pronoun to represent the
persons spoken to
 Example:
 you
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Third-Person Pronoun
 Use a third-person pronoun to represent the persons
spoken about
 Examples:
 He
 She
 It
 They
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Examples
 Antecedents and Pronouns
 Kim encouraged his staff.
 Anyone can state his or her opinion on the matter.
 A good manager consults with his or her staff.
 The panel submitted its report.
 The students completed their software installation on
time.
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Compound Antecedents
 A compound antecedent is one that consists of two
or more elements.
 Examples:
 After Shawn and I drafted the proposal, we sent it to Ms.
Jones.
 After Joe and Robert played ball, they went home.
 Maria and Yuki practiced their songs for the play.
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Indefinite Pronoun Agreement
 An indefinite pronoun refers in general terms to
people, places, and things.
 Examples:
 One
 Each
 Every
 Many
 Few
 Both
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Adjectives
 An adjective is a word that describes or limits nouns,
pronouns, and phrases that act as nouns.
 Adjectives answer questions about nouns
 Which one? This proposal, those appointments
 How many? Six calls, few tourists
 What kind? Ambitious student, creative teacher
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Articles
 The
 Denotes a specific noun or pronoun

The man
A
 A man
 An
 Denotes a nonspecific noun or pronoun

An honorable leader
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Nouns and Pronouns Used as Adjectives
 Nouns or pronouns that precede and modify other
nouns and answer questions are used as adjectives.
 Examples:
 Luis had four theater tickets.
 Our family thoroughly enjoys Thanksgiving dinner.
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Compound Adjectives
 A compound adjective is two or more hyphenated
words that precede and modify nouns.
 Examples:
 The well-known mystery writer is signing copies of his
book.
 Vivian is selling long-term service plans.
 Mrs. Woo will attend a high-level meeting.
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Comparison of Adjectives
 Regular adjectives have three degrees of comparison:
 The positive degree

Describes one item
 The comparative degree

Describes two items
 The superlative degree

Describes three or more items
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Positive Degree
 The box is a big carton.
 Montel is an efficient worker.
 He is as big as you.
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Comparative Degree
 The box is a bigger carton than the first one.
 Montel is less efficient than Charles.
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Superlative Degree
 The box is the biggest carton of the three.
 Montel is the least efficient of the new employees.
 He is the biggest boy in his class.
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Absolute Adjectives
 Absolute adjectives cannot be compared because
they do not have degrees.
 Examples:
 Immaculate
 Perfect
 Square
 Round
 Complete
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